haunted
by tatty ted
Summary: "Five grand, three days." It's the note she receives on Wednesday, by Saturday she still hasn't got enough money to meet the kidnappers demands. Now, Linda hopes that by begging she might just save her niece and nephew's life but when Linda discovers the identity of the girl, the saying an eye for an eye suddenly springs to mind. - —Linda.
1. CHAPTER I

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haunted  
_a casualty fanfiction_

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She's a pretty sort of girl with the figure all the girls would die for. Her cheek bones are protruding, dark bags underneath her eyes and her eyes are cold and dark. She's got a tattoo on her hip of a star, her style is simple; demin jeans, a top that showed of her stomach and grey uggs.

She stands outside the ED, rustling through her handbag trying to find her lighter but unable to find it, turns to the nearest person she can find.

"Excuse me?" She's got a Liverpudlian accent — or a scouse accent as it's known.

A woman turns to the girl, "Yes?"

"Can I borrow your light?" The woman goes into her pocket and hands the girl the lighter. She takes it from the palm of the woman's hand, smiles and lights up the cigarette thats in her mouth. Her finger nails are painted with blue and pink zebra print and she hands the lighter back to the woman.

She inhales before blowing the smoke out slowly.

The older woman returns to the ED and she's left outside alone. She looks up at the sky and upon noticing the large dark cloud that's heading her way, curses herself for being so bloody stupid and forgetting her umbrella.

Finishing her cigarette, she flicks her cigarette bud onto the pavement, takes a deep breath and walks into the ED. As soon as she enters, she notices how busy it is, well it was bound to be busy, it was a saturday afternoon for one.

She has to move out the way quickly before someone's sick on her shoes and as she walks to the reception desk, she tells herself she will never work for the National Health Service.

There are two men behind the desk, little and large, Laurel and Hardy. She taps her nails against the desk trying to catch their attention but after a moment or so, she shouts; "Oi?"

Both the men turn to look at her. They note that she's blonde, young possibly early twenties with a big gob on her, "How can I help you?"

She smiles, "Linda Andrews works here right?"

Straight away the skinner man notes that she had an accent quite similar to Linda's and they both wonder if she's a relative.

He nods, "Would you like me to pass a message on?"

The girl nods and smiles more softly this time.

"Who should I say is waiting?"

She pauses and doesn't say anything for a moment or two, "She'll be expecting me."

The receptionist nods for a second time and gestures for her to take a seat in the waiting room. She smiles, takes a seat away from the area where the diseased are located and hopes she won't have to wait long sitting on these uncomfortable chairs.

She really isn't sat there for long when she watches her. She's almost certain she sees a flicker of fear in the woman's eyes. She licks her lips and smirks. Not long, not long now and she's right. Twenty minutes or so and she's there.

Linda's stood before her, she can see the fear in her eyes, her complexion more pale than normal, the small beads of sweat breaking free.

"What the hell are you doing here?" It's a whisper and it's meant to sound threatening but she's scared and she knows it. She touches her arm, "I mean it, what the hell are you doing here?"

She smirks, licks her lips for a second time and answers back; "Getting back what's mine."

She can hear Linda's breathing become heavier and she smirks. Oh she's definitely going to have some fun with this one.

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**jottings** — a new short story involving linda, will be about four chapters long. if you like it enough to favourite/alert, please leave a review :3


	2. CHAPTER II

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**CHAPTER TWO**.

"You know I haven't got it." Linda whispers, her grip tighting on the young girl's arm. The girl can feel Linda's nail dragging into her skin but she doesn't say anything _yet_. Instead, she shakes her head, a stray of blonde hair falls in front of her face and she brushes it away elegantly.

"Not my problem," she pauses for effect; "I told you to get it for today. _We _told you to get it for today."

Linda keeps a grip on her arm and the girl really wants to push her off. If she caused a scene that wouldn't solve anything. At the moment, no-one batted an eyelid to a teenager in uggs, jeans and a teeshirt. She kind of blended it.

"Don't do this."

She laughs. A low laugh and a reply, "We've not done anything."

"Give me another day, please."

She shakes her head; "No can do, you've been given enough time." The girl smirks. She likes making people feel completely helpless, the power she has over people makes her feel great inside.

Linda releases her grip from the girl's arm.

"I can't find that kind of cash I—"

The girl interrupts by placing a finger on Linda's lips, "If you don't have the money by six, we'll kill Britney and Joe. Don't think we're fucking around."

"Please just let them go and—" The look in the girl's eyes tell Linda that no amount of begging for her niece and nephews life was going to change the situation. Swallowing trying to bring moisture to her dry throat, she nods slowly;

"Six you say?"

"Six by The Railway Arms. Don't try calling the police or bringing a friend, we're watching you."

She goes to walk away but before she does, she whispers to Linda that she's a good girl and disappears. It's only then that Linda takes a deep breath and wonders how the hell she's going to get herself out of this situation.

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**jottings — **the chapters are only short but it's the best i can do. like it enough to favourite/alert, please review;3


	3. CHAPTER III

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**CHAPTER THREE**.

Six pm. The Railway Arms. It's quiet outside but Linda's presuming that's because outside resembles a lake at this present moment. The rain's heavy and she's only been stood outside for five minutes or so and she's already soaked to the skin.

"Where's the money?" The voice is rough and Linda presumes it belongs to a man although she can't make the figure out in the dark.

"I've only managed to get—"

"Be quiet!" The man demands as he edges towards her. He smells of stale cigarettes and whiskey and the smell of him makes Linda feel sick.

"Do you want to see a picture of the last person who didn't pay us?"

Linda closes her eyes tight, hoping he doesn't see but he does. He barks at her to open her eyes and when she does, she's blinded by a mobile phone. On the screen is a photograph, a young man barely twenty, covered in blood.

"Do you want to know what happened to him?"

Linda can only presume he died. With these thugs that was the only thing possible. Linda doesn't think her stomach would be able to handle anything gruesome, not without thinking that her niece and nephew weren't that far away from death.

The very thought sends a shiver down her spine.

The man puts the phone away and grabs her upper arm, pulling her towards the waiting car. She thinks about struggling, trying to fight but Linda realises how pointless it seems. The man is twice the size of her, there is no way she'll get out of his grip.

Silently she gets into the car and as they drive away from the pub, Linda can't make out where they are heading. They come to a stop not long after, pulling into a vacant warehouse in the middle of god-knows-where.

As she steps out of the car, the strong smell of urine and vomit makes her heave. Two men stand either side of her, one stocky and bald, the other small with hair. They remind her of bouncers outside a club, the ones who've refused her entry to a club for being too intoxicated.

In front of her is the woman from earlier. She's changed her clothes instead opting for leather trousers and a white top. She's about to open her mouth to beg but the look she receives from the woman makes her close it again despite the woman been a good ten years younger than her.

"It was never the money you daft cow. I couldn't care less about the money, I wanted you."

Linda frowns. Now she can't get her head around somebody wanting her. She's pretty darn useless.

"You killed my brother." And as soon as the words escape the girls mouth, the colour drains from Linda's face. Everything slots into place like a jigsaw and the saying, _an eye for an eye_ suddenly sprang to mind.

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**jottings** — like it enough to favourite/alert? please leave a review;3


	4. CHAPTER IV

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**CHAPTER FOUR**.

"Do you really think I'd let it go? Martin's death was your fault." She jags a finger into Linda's chest.

Linda remembers. Martin Summers, now that really is a blast from the past. Something or rather someone she never thought she'd encounter again. The girl, she must've been Stephanie, his younger sister.

Martin Summers, now he was a twenty-nine year old drunk although the title alcoholic would've suited him better. A regular down at the Bull's head in Liverpool Town Centre everyone either knew him or heard of him.

His death? He started a fight and died.

"I didn't killl him."

"You were a Nurse and you did fuck all. You stood and watched my brother take his left breath."

"I know that, I didn't kill him. There was nothing I could do to save him, it was too late."

She stops. Why is she defending her actions to a psychotic twenty-odd year old woman who thought she deserved an answer to her brothers death.

"Is this what kidnapping Britney and Joe is all about? All this eye-for-an-eye crap? You're going to kill them to get revenge for your brother's death?"

She smirks, "Well why not? You left my brother to die in a pile of his own blood. Maybe I should do the same to your niece and nephew." She nods to the two men either side of Linda. The girl who Linda would put at early twenties, grabs her and drags her further into the warehouse.

They come to a room and inside the room is Britney and Joe. They're tied to chair by rope, a piece of cloth in their mouth. Both of them look terrified, their eyes wide and Linda can make out a couple of scratches on Britney's cheek.

"Look at what you've done." The girl taunts and Linda closes her eyes. Although not one to show emotion, she can't help the solitory tear that rolls down her cheek.

"Please let them go, they've done nothing wrong."

The girl looks at the two men and nods again. They grab Linda and pull her to the floor. The girl stands over her and presses a knife into her throat; "Tell me what happened that night, the night you left Martin to die and you _might_ just save them."

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**jottings** — if you like it enough to favourite/alert, please leave a review;3


	5. CHAPTER V

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**CHAPTER FIVE**.

She sighs. Perhaps explaining to the woman what happened wouldn't be such a bad idea. In fact, anything seemed a better idea then getting her throat cut by a deranged woman in front of her niece and nephew.

"I didn't know your brother until that night, I'd heard of him but I didn't know him." She pauses collecting her thoughts, "That night, he didn't just start on those lads. He started on me too."

She looks at Britney and Joseph and sighs; "He called me a skank and a whore and threw his pint over me. He kept saying us women were poison. I think I spent the rest of the night crying in the toilets."

"Then what?" The girl asks. Linda can feel the knife pressing deeper into her throat.

"I stayed there until I heard someone shout they needed an ambulance. When I saw him on the floor, I froze. I just stared at him as he struggled to breath. That morning I'd only just qualified as a Nurse and I was pretty shit."

The clatter of the knife on the concrete floor brings Linda back to reality, back to her surroundings. The two men had let go off Linda's wrists and the girl who was brandishing the knife sat on the floor, sobs escaping her body.

Linda stands up and edges nearer to the girl. She touches her shoulder gently.

"I'm—so—sorry." She whispers, "I—wouldn't—have—hurt—them, I—needed—to—know—about—"

Linda nods, Stephanie isn't a bad kid, just grieving for her brother who died ten years ago. Trying to find the answers to why her brother died that night. The two men untied Britney and Joe from the chairs and both ran towards Linda.

As she hugs both children tightly, she kisses the top of their heads and begins to cry a little. She knows how close she'd come to losing them and if she ever lost them, she wouldn't know what to do with herself.

"Come on, let's go home."

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**jottings** — last chapter, was meant to post yesterday but got distracted. if you like it enough to favourite, please don't forget your reviews;3


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